Bulls Shut Out Temple, Advance to AAC Semifinals

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TAMPA – Stiven Salinas scored his third goal in four games to lead the Bulls to a 1-0 win over Temple in the American Athletic Conference quarterfinals in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon.

The senior forward scored 30 seconds before halftime in the 45th minute. Salinas took a long pass from Edwin Moalosi and calmly put it past the sliding Temple goalkeeper to give USF the lead heading into the break. The goal was the fifth of the year for Salinas, which is tied for the team lead.

That would be all the Bulls would need as they put together another dominant defensive performance to shutout the Owls the rest of the way.

The match marked the 15th time this season that USF has held its opponent to one goal or less. Senior goalkeeper Brentton Muhammad posted his third straight shutout and seventh of the season, making three saves in the match.

USF held the fourth seeded Owls to only two shots and none on goal in the second half. Temple was limited to only three shots on goal for the entire match and was frustrated throughout by the Bulls’ back line.

The Bulls used a balanced attack offensively to break down a very good defensive side in Temple. USF had seven different players record a shot and five post two shots each as they finished with a 12-9 advantage in total shots for the afternoon.

With the win the Bulls advance to the American semifinals next Friday, Nov. 15 in Frisco, Texas. They will take on the No. 8 seed Rutgers at Toyota Stadium at 6 p.m. ET. The Scarlet Knights upset the top-seeded Louisville Cardinals on Saturday night.

USF recorded a scoreless draw against Rutgers during the regular season. You can purchase tickets for the American Athletic Conference tournament semifinals and finals HERE.

For the most up-to-date postseason information on USF men’s soccer, stay locked to GoUSFBulls.com and follow the team on Twitter @USFMSoccer. All information on the American Athletic Conference Tournament can be found HERE.